I am 36 and doing my work to apply to med school in a year. I’m practicing my MCAT, grades are good (3.77) and so appear to be on a good pace.
Then my doubts started.
“What if I don’t get in anywhere?” “What can I do then?”
I want to be a physician. But has anyone had the backup plan of another graduate field if not accepted into this?
I did.
I do.
I took the LSAT. 173. Studied for it intently. That same intensity is getting me through these science courses and will help me knock out the MCAT (I hope). I just wanted to go to Reno (UNSOM).
Law is different. Medicine: not many patients ask (nor do they care) where their doctor attended school. Law: EVERYBODY formulates opinions based on WHERE you went.
I spoke with the pre-law advisor at school. I was quoted that with a 3.77 GPA and a 173 that I could have a legitimate shot at Stanford.
GTFO…
My question to you all is this:
If the opportunities are present and knowing definitively that you have these choices (with equal interest); do you go Reno for medicine or Stanford law? Or am I stupidly crazy for thinking I could do Stanford law and then Reno medicine and practice medical defense law?
None of that sounds crazy. If you have a passion for that I say go for it. I would ask your pre-law advisor about the job market for lawyers (even ones from Stanford), from what I understand (just from what I have read and my lawyer sister) getting a job after law school can be pretty competitive. It appears that law schools pump out more lawyers than needed.
What do you want to do when you finish? What kind of lifestyle do you want?
I took LSAT a few years ago and think I could have gotten into some good schools I think but decided against it.
I’m at Harvard now taking O-Chem and have talked to some law students and the majority of the class goes to work for big law after graduation (insane hours, high pay, meh work). I met 2 lawyers just out of UCLA a few months ago doing what they thought was really lame prosecution work.
They are obviously still cool jobs with law degrees but they aren’t guaranteed even for top law school grads.
I was actually talking to another Harvard educated lawyer years ago that was getting ready to run for public office in Illinois. He basically said “the law is the law” The majority of cases he handles could be handled by any lawyer. He said he once in a blue moon gets to make a speech out of a John Grisham movie to a courtroom but most of what he does is really mundane.
To me and from talking to him and other lawyers this pretty much means that to make good money as a lawyer you need to be a good businessman. Probably the richest lawyers are personal injury attorneys that really hardly need to have any skills at all other than marketing.
Obviously a Doctors life is not perfect either but I would just talk to a few people in both professions and ask them the pros and cons. That will be more helpful than anything that can be said on a forum.
Also with your stats (provided your not a terribly weird person or anything) you will be able to get into a number of good med schools. There is no need to say Reno vs Stanford so early IMO.
I would try taking some practice MCATs in the subjects you have already studied. From my experience they focus on Logic more than I thought they would and you should be able to get 30+ relatively easily with a 173 LSAT.
I think without an MCAT score and acceptances in hand, it’s a moot point to speculate.
- pathdr2b Said:
until you have that acceptance in your hand, it is all hypothetical, like dreaming how you'll spend jackpot for the lottery ticket you just bought
You have to go where the passion leads. If you’re doing this for the money, I think you’ll be disappointed. My best friend went to law school and I got to know several of his classmates very well. Several of them went in for the money, and have absolutely hated their jobs out of school. Actually, two others hated the jobs they thought they would love and have switched to others they never would have expected to find satisfaction in (public defender).
The school is so different as well. I sat in on enough of my friend’s classes to know that I could never deal with it. Give me science any day.
- gonnif Said:
- pathdr2b Said:
until you have that acceptance in your hand, it is all hypothetical, like dreaming how you'll spend jackpot for the lottery ticket you just bought
B/C med school acceptance is an impossible to predict game of chance?
Theres coorelations, they aren't perfect but thats the kind of information you need to work with when making decisions sometimes.
Both occupations are will require you to devote a great deal more hours than a typical medical/lawyer field.
Could you combine the two and become a medical lawyer? It would give you access to both worlds.
For me, changing fields required introspection. From procurement to cosmetic surgery, it took me a while to decide to change.
But in the end, it’s in your hands. Good luck!
moneyline702,
Or you could really go off the deep end and do a joint MD/JD program. There are actually a few universities that offer such a dual degree combination (University of Chicago, for example). I don’t know much about these programs, but I imagine one would have to be a glutton for punishment to do both law & medical school simultaneously.
the way that joint programs work in medical school is that you do the first 2 years of medical school. After you take the boards, you do the 3 years of law school and then come back and finish your medical school training. at the end of 7 years you graduate from both.
omg thats near brilliant. That thought crossed my mind once or twice in the past. At least I’m not the only one who has thought of it.
Money - congrats on the LSAT score. As far as the MD/JD route goes, I think that Mayo students do 2 yrs MD, 2 yrs JD, then 2 yrs back to MD for a total of 6 yrs. So there’s that…
I wouldn’t say that you did something ill advised, but it does make me wonder why does one have to choose between law and medicine as possible career choices? Is it because they are high paying, high status professions? Are there not other professions, and, indeed, other jobs that, while lacking the status and pay, are just as fulfilling and rewarding?
So while having a backup plan is good, I personally feel that the career path you pursue is that one that will give you the most satisfaction in the long term (and, hopefully, is the one that will also contribute to the betterment of humankind and this world.) Life is too short and too many people hate their jobs to do otherwise.
I think you raise a very valid point.
Rarely do doctors get grilled about their chosen educational establishment.
I tend to agree with several other posters here in so much as believing youre chosen profession should be one in which you are happy.
Little else matters to me.
Happiness in ones job is fulfilling, makes the time pass more quickly, and doesn’t require self-motivation.